


Letters and Words

by tromana



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Card Games, Character Study, Crime Scenes, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Episode Tag, Episode s01e23 Red John's Footsteps, Episode s03e24 Strawberries and Cream Part 2, Episode: s05e08 Red Sails in the Sunset, F/M, Fights, Friendship, Gen, Gossip, Hope, Introspection, Kissing, Post Red John, Quiet, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-27
Packaged: 2017-11-23 06:41:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tromana/pseuds/tromana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working my way through the alphabet, one drabble at a time. Jane/Lisbon</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. And

**Author's Note:**

> Drabble collection, where each drabble starts with a different letter of the alphabet - and that word becomes the title of the drabble. Written for the Paint It Red January 2013 Monthly Challenge. Prompt: letters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Learning the ropes.

"And you know this how?"

The words come out as a demand. Lisbon places a hand on her hip as she waits for Jane to answer her question. Infuriatingly, he merely taps his lip and wanders to another spot in the room. She's used to this; Jane's mind games and tricks. He wants her to work out what he's seeing.

Sometimes, it annoys her; on other occasions, she realizes that it's helping her to become a better cop.

He stares pointedly at the photographs on the wall.

Each one is torn.

"She left her boyfriend?"

He nods and she smiles.


	2. Brave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She doesn't think she's brave.

Brave.

That’s what they’d called her in the media firestorm that followed Red John’s death.

_Brave._

For walking into the lion’s den, not even armed with a gun.

For taking him down with no back-up whatsoever.

For risking her very life.

But she wasn’t brave. Not really.

All she’d been doing was her job.

She hid behind the badge, and that made her feel slightly braver.

Without it, she was just like any other woman on the street.

And there was one thing that made her feel like a coward.

She couldn’t face Patrick Jane since taking away his revenge.


	3. Can't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at Jane's thoughts during the final moments of 3x24.

_Can’t you see there’s people who care about you, who need you?_

“Wait,” he called to Red John.

And suddenly, he was torn between what he wanted, and what he needed.

Closure or a future with somebody else.

With Lisbon?

_Can’t you see there’s people…_

He can’t have both.

But this was something that had driven him for so long.

It had given him focus and drive.

It had given him the will to live.

_Can’t you see…_

But so had she.

In a very different way.

He fired the gun once, twice and a third and final time.

_Can’t…_


	4. Deniability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's her best friend. Or is it?

Deniability.

A long time ago, Jane had told her it was her best friend. It protected her career, herself, everything she held dear.

But as far as Lisbon was concerned, it also meant that she could tell herself little lies.

_I am in control of Jane. I know what I’m doing._

_I can save him from Red John._

_And himself, for that matter._

_Yes, I know what I’m doing._

It was all lies. Of course, she knew that.

But precious deniability stopped her from admitting to the truth.

Just like the fact she was actually in love with Patrick Jane.


	5. Entertain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisbon can be very difficult to convince...

“Entertain the thought, just for a second. Go on.”

“No.”

“Oh come on, why not?”

“For one, you’re you.”

“That’s hardly a reasonable argument, Lisbon.”

“I think it is.”

“Of _course_ you would. We’ve been friends for years. So why not?”

“It’s inappropriate.”

“Inappropriate how? As far as I’m concerned, we’re just doing our jobs. I think there’s a deeper, underlying issue which means you won’t do it.”

“Jane.”

“What?”

“Stop.”

“I’ll make you coffee for a week.”

“You do that anyway.”

“I’ll behave.”

“Sure.”

“It’s only going undercover as a married couple. I don’t see what your problem is!”


	6. Frivolous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His wife had always said he was frivolous

_‘Frivolous Patrick Jane.’_

That was what his wife called him on more than one occasion.

And naturally, he was frivolous by name and frivolous by nature.

His wife had insisted they invest the money in property. ‘Houses will always be needed,’ she had claimed.

But that wasn’t enough to stop him from spending the rest of his additional income freely.

His daughter was his favorite person to spoil. She loved receiving specially selected gifts regularly.

For a long while, he was lost without her.

But it was only a matter of time before he found a new person to treat.


	7. Geronimo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane decides he needs a new exclamation of delight.

“Geronimo!”

Lisbon paused for a second and shot Jane a ‘really?’ glance. She shook her head as she finished reading the Miranda rights to the perpetrator. It was only when they were in the SUV, with the man firmly locked up in the back that she questioned him about it.

“Geronimo, Jane? Really?”

“Yeah. It sounded better in my head.”

“I can imagine,” Lisbon replied dryly.

“I’m bored of ‘aha’, ‘eureka’ and ‘bingo’. I really need to find something else to say.”

She glanced at him as he rubbed his chin pensively.

“Do you have to say _anything_ at all?”


	8. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happiness is a precious thing.

Happy.

There was a time when he’d been happy.

When he’d first ran away from the carnival with Angela.

Watching her walk down the aisle, towards him.

Charlotte’s birth.

After their deaths, he found it hard to imagine that he could be happy again.

He dedicated his life to the macabre, to mystery, to _murder_.

He couldn’t find much cheer in _that._

But then, he grew to appreciate the company he did it in.

Saw the humor between the lines.

And the care and dedication in Teresa Lisbon.

It was then that he decided he could be happy once again.


	9. If

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For such a small word, 'if' can have very big connotations...

If his wife hadn’t died, would he have still had his family?

…or would his daughter have grown up to resent him, in much the way that she seemed to on occasion?

If she hadn’t died, would he have given up on the psychic trade for her?

…or would he have continued with the lies and deceit in order to make a living?

If she hadn’t died, would they have been truly happy to this very day?

…or would she have left him for another man, another life?

If his wife hadn’t died...

…would he have ever met Teresa Lisbon?


	10. Joker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distractions for the stressed.

“Joker is still in the pack,” Jane informed her seriously as he shuffled the cards in his hands. “It’s your job to pull it out.”

“Jane,” Lisbon replied and it sounded more like a whine. “I’ve got work to do. This isn’t helping.”

“It won’t take long. Humor me.”

Lisbon scowled, but she obliged. He was relieved; Jane knew that she needed the distraction and that was why he had drawn out his deck of cards. Sometimes, with cases, she got a bit between her teeth and couldn’t see the bigger picture.

At least she had decided to humor him.


	11. Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Change of heart.

“Kill me, go on.”

Red John was standing, unarmed, in front of him. This was the moment that Patrick Jane had been waiting for years for.

The desperation for closure and the desperation for revenge, it had all been for this.

But things had changed in that time. It was inevitable; nothing ever truly stayed the same.

Even his quest for vengeance had died; only he hadn’t realized it yet.

And he’d met someone he really couldn’t let down.

The knife clattered at his feet.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a familiar number.

She’d been right all along.


	12. Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At a stalemate. Companion drabble to 'Kill'.

Life was what you made of it.

Red John knew that some people didn’t approve of what he did, but he didn’t care. He had his reasons and he was going to take them to the grave.

Imminently, it seemed.

Patrick Jane had him tied and bound. His hands were cuffed together, presumably with a certain Teresa Lisbon’s property.

“Kill me, go on,” he urged with a glint in his eyes.

Instead, the knife clattered to the ground.

He always knew Jane didn’t have the guts for it.

And he should have got to Lisbon when he had the chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idon'thaveaname, on fanfiction.net, asked why Red John didn't attack when Jane dropped the knife in the previous drabble. This is why.


	13. Methylenedioxyphenylisopropylamine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another crime scene. Another day with Jane seeming to make up words as he goes along.

“Methylenedioxyphenylisopropylamine,” Jane stated and Lisbon blinked.

“Say that again?”

“What? Methylenedioxyphenylisopropylamine?”

“And what is it, exactly?”

“A drug,” Jane answered back with a shrug.

“Yeah, I kinda got that from the ridiculously long name, thanks.”

She glanced down at the dead body. Deaths involving drugs were tricky. There was a fine line between suicide, accidental overdose and murder. Their job now was to sort through the rest of the evidence to see which it was.

“It’s commonly known as MDA, or tenamfetamine. Users call it Sass or Sassafras.”

“I knew that. But is this murder, or…?”

“Oh, it’s murder alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With thanks to CJDavey for supplying me with the longest M word to start this drabble with!


	14. Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of Red John changes everything.

Never before had he felt so nervous in his life.

It had been years since Patrick Jane had acknowledged his attraction to Teresa Lisbon. However, for a long while, it had been something he’d actively ignored.

But things were different now. Red John had been killed. He’d got the closure he needed, even if he wasn’t the one to pull the proverbial trigger.

As he faced Lisbon, the words caught in his throat.

He needed her, but what he wanted changed _everything_.

In the end, he was as surprised as anyone when she placed a tender kiss on his lips.


	15. Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, she's left with nothing.

Over.

It was actually over.

Red John, her relationship with Patrick Jane.

It was all gone, whisked away from her in the blink of an eye.

They had got the serial killer, but the underhanded methods to _get_ to him had proven to be too much.

There had to be a scapegoat.

 _She_ was that scapegoat.

It was inevitable, meant to be.

She had always known that it would end in disaster.

Jane had disappeared the moment that Red John’s body hit the floor.

Now, she was alone, unemployed.

She sighed, stood up.

There was a knock at the door…


	16. Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane's waiting for an answer...

“Please, Teresa. Say something.”

“I think you’re crazy.”

She spoke quietly, but she wasn’t angry. However, his question had been very unexpected.

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Fine, act stubborn.”

“Why, Patrick? Why now?”

“Why not?”

Lisbon shook her head and then took a moment to regard him properly. She knew how to read people; she had to for work and to keep up with Jane.

“You really want to marry me?”

“I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t.”

“Fine, okay. Yes.”

They hadn’t been dating long, but it didn’t matter. It was time to throw caution to the wind.


	17. Quiz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brenda Shettrick has a nightmare of an idea for Lisbon...

Quiz Night at the CBI were words that struck fear in the heart of Teresa Lisbon.

It was Brenda Shettrick’s idea; it was a way to promote the CBI and raise funds. All teams were expected to attend, unless they had a major case to investigate at the time.

And worse?

Patrick Jane’s attendance was mandatory.

Brenda surmised that Jane was the most famous face the CBI had in their arsenal. He was the one that every civilian wanted to meet (though not through the day job). Thus, he had to be there.

Only problem was controlling his ego there.


	18. Respect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lisbon is angry with Jane again.

“Respect is something you earn, not a divine right.”

Lisbon strode away to make a point, but she knew that he would follow her anyway. She didn’t care, but she did want him to know he was not in control of her behavior. Her anger was simmering, but she tried to mask it.

“I respect you.”

“Really? It doesn’t look like it from where I’m standing.”

“I do.”

“Oh yes, and what about all the times you’ve deceived me, tricked me, and put my career at risk? That’s not respect, Jane.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“You are? Then prove it.”


	19. Some

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharing car journeys with Jane is never fun. Right?

Some people believed that traveling with Jane in a car was a nightmare for Lisbon.

That he’d fiddle mercilessly with the radio.

That he wouldn’t be able to decide whether or not he wanted the windows open.

That he would pick fights on random subjects just to entertain himself.

If people traveled with them, it drove them insane, because that’s what they saw.

It wasn’t true.

Lisbon actually enjoyed it.

The music was never boring.

The temperature was always regulated, one way or another.

Conversation subjects never grew stale.

And they rarely had to share each other with anybody else.


	20. This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never work with kids or animals.

"This is Patrick Jane, my consultant."

Jane smiled as Lisbon pointed him out, but his audience looked less than impressed. But then, they were teenagers. They were always the hardest to get any emotion out of. All thinly veiled skepticism and disdain. Some, he thought, would never grow out of that and he glanced at Lisbon.

But that was irrelevant. For now, he had a job to do.

And that job was to get anything and everything these kids knew about the victim in the easiest way possible.

He clapped his hands together.

"Right. Here's what we're going to do…"


	21. Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane has a reason to be worried.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been worried.

Under normal circumstances, he knew that she was just going undercover.

That she was fully trained for this sort of operation.

That she knew what she was doing.

That she would contact him when appropriate.

That she would be fine.

But under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have been doing anything near as risky as this.

She would have followed the rulebook.

She would have found an alternative means to find evidence and make an arrest.

But she couldn’t, because there were no other options available to them.

Because this was Red John.


	22. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time they talk properly about Red John...

“Vengeance will be mine,” Jane says to her and Lisbon looks stunned.

He’s been with her team for four months now, and it’s taken that time for him to come out of his shell.

During that time, he’s spent a lot of time in close quarters with her, watching her every move, seeing how she operates. If he hadn’t looked so broken, she would have found it a little creepy.

The subjects they talk about have gotten a little freer recently.

This is the first time they’ve talked about Red John.

And she realizes that _this_ may be a problem.


	23. What

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane has a few questions on his mind.

“What time do you call this?”

Lisbon is late the office, and Jane isn’t going to let her get away with it that easily. If something changes, he is always the first to know. Being _Jane_ , he has to know more.

 She glances towards the bullpen before she looks at him. “I’m not late. It’s a perfectly acceptable time to arrive.”

Of course, she’s right. But it’s late for her and that’s the issue.

“You’re up to something, Agent Lisbon.”

She rolls her eyes and stalks away.

She’s easy to read but this is going to take some more digging.


	24. X-rays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Episode tag to 5x08 Red Sails in the Sunset

X-rays, MRIs, CAT scans, doctors, doctors and more doctors.

 _It’s all a necessary evil,_ she promises. _We need to check that you’re okay._

He doesn’t believe her. Jane had known what he was doing; the accident was necessary to get Lorelei to trust him. To make sure she talks about Red John.

The endless testing is enough to make him wish he’d reconsidered his options.

It’s also enough to send Lisbon’s concern into overdrive.

When he’s told he has whiplash and needs to wear a neck brace, she looks vindicated.

He merely wishes he could explain _why_ he’d done it.


	25. You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Serious Crimes Unit doesn't like office gossiping.

“You think that he’s in love with her?”

Van Pelt overhears the whispers of the gossiping receptionists as she walks past them. She doesn’t need to be told who they are talking about; it’s always the same two people: the boss and Jane.

For some reason, everyone’s convinced they’ve been hiding their illicit affair for years now.

She, Rigsby and Cho always rise above it. After all, that’s what Lisbon does too.

But she cannot help but feel offended for them.

What does it matter _if_ Jane and Lisbon are in love?

If anything, she thinks it’d be quite sweet.


	26. Zulu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...and this final drabble brings us full circle.

“…Zulu, Two, Three, Zero. Got that? Thanks.”

She clicked off her cellphone and Jane was staring at her quizzically. That wasn’t especially a new thing, but she had needed to get that BOLO out before worrying about anything else.

“Yes, Jane?”

“Why do you always use the phonetic alphabet for things like that? Not everyone knows it.”

“They do in this job,” she answered, amused.

“So? It could cause lines of miscommunication.”

“But so could using the regular alphabet; people can miss letters, or misunderstand.”

“Still…”

“Really, Jane. For someone so clever, you have very odd lapses in your knowledge.”


End file.
